The “Kitchen Sink” can be anything of the right height: a chair back at the office, the desktop in the schoolroom, a window ledge, bathroom sink, countertop, cupboard, dresser, etc.

This exercise can be done each time you go to the sink (or to the chair, at your desk, kitchen counter, etc.). Through frequent practice, you will maintain good posture, give yourself quick relief from pelvic pressure, and you will improve circulation to the lower part of your body. Read more...

Since Pelvic Rocking is so vital to your comfort and health during pregnancy I am offering some additional positions. The hands-and-knees position is by far the most effective means of “rocking your pelvis,” so use it whenever possible.

Sitting Pelvic Rock

Though the sitting position is not as effective as the other methods of pelvic rocking, the advantage is that it can be done while you are sitting doing routine tasks.
It will relieve back tension and pelvic pressure.

The meaning of the word “relaxation” as used in Natural Childbirth may be very different from your past experience. It is a skill that you will ﬁnd useful for the rest of your life. Nothing is needed more in our stress-filled lives than learning to relax.

Here is what the word means to me and to you, from now on.

Relaxation takes mental activity to keep you physically inactive. In other words, you work hard with your mind to keep your body still and quiet! It is very different from sleep, when our minds probably fall asleep before our bodies relax. Relaxing takes mental discipline, especially while the uterus is in hard contraction. Read more...

HOW TO SQUAT AND WHY

The squat is the position you will assume to give birth. It opens the “baby door.” The pelvis is pulled as wide open as it can get. So get busy and limber up those squatting muscles! The wider apart you hold your legs during the pushing stage of labor, the sooner the baby can be born.

Squatting is healthy because it develops better circulation in the perineal area, which leads to better muscle tone and healthier tissue. One of the benefits post birth is that your tissues are healthy from the increased attention to them. After the typical stretching that childbirth creates, your tissues will more quickly resume their normal state. Read more...